A true classic, my Pound Cake recipe is simple (only six ingredients) and satisfying! This cake is heavy and dense (as it ought to be!) while simultaneously being soft, buttery, and absolutely melt-in-your-mouth! It’s incredible served alone or pairs beautifully with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Traditional Pound Cake (Made Better!)
I’m not sure where pound cake rates in terms of your favorite cake recipes, but I’ll admit it had never been a top contender for in my household. Humble and frosting-less, sure I would have a slice, but nobody in my house ever really got excited about pound cake, often overlooking it for light and fluffy angel food cake or prettily iced layer cakes.
If your experience with pound cakes of the past is anything like mine, you’re in for a real treat today. I set about developing this recipe with a mission, determined to perfect a pound cake that was simple and not overly complicated, one that didn’t stray too far from the traditional version (no fancy or unusual ingredients) but at the same time put all of its predecessors to shame.
Here you have it. Perfectly balanced, rich and sweet, my pound cake is so buttery and soft that melts in your mouth, and it’s anything but boring. It’s a heavy cake (as pound cakes should be!) with a dense, velvety crumb, but there’s nothing dry or crumbly about it.
While this cake can hold it’s own, it’s even better when served with homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit. It would also pair well with a spoonful or two of lemon curd (a great way to use up some leftover egg yolks!).
Break out your bowls–you’re going to need a big one–and let’s talk about what it is that makes this cake so perfectly special and irresistible.
What You Need (and What You DON’T)
Pound cake has traditionally been made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. When developing my recipe, I wanted to stay as true as I could to the traditional version, but some small adjustments were in order for the absolute best flavor (I mean, hello, vanilla extract!). The result is a soft, buttery crumb that’s perfectly dense without being at all dry or crumbly.
- Butter. Unsalted butter works best for this cake. It should be softened, but not so soft that it’s greasy, melty, or oily.
- Sugar. We stick with tradition and use regular granulated sugar only in this cake. Make sure to whip your butter and sugar until fully incorporated and fluffy before you move to the next step.
- Eggs. You will need six whole eggs and six additional egg yolks. It might seem like a lot, and it is, but trust me! The extra yolks help to keep the cake crumb moist with almost custardy undertones/flavors. We omit extra whites because they would make the cake crumb too light (remember, this is a dense cake!) and could even make it dry. This cake is perfect for using up extra yolks from another recipe! Save your extra egg whites to make meringue, pavlova, or Eton mess!
- Vanilla. You’re going to add a whole tablespoon of vanilla to this cake batter. This may seem like a lot, but I promise it’s just the right amount! PS. If you have a batch of homemade vanilla extract sitting in your cabinet, this is the time to bring it out!
- Salt. For flavor, I add a little salt.
- Flour. I specificaly developed this recipe to be perfectly soft and tender using plain ol’ all-purpose flour, but include notes in the recipe in case you’d like to substitute cake flour. Make sure you know how to measure your flour properly, or may end up with a dry cake. One more thing that I cannot stress highly enough: do not, under any circumstances, use self-rising flour. Your cake will almost absolutely overflow.
You may notice that my pound cake recipeย does not use baking powder. This is intentional! Pound cake ought to have a dense crumb, and baking powder serves to lighten a cake’s crumb and help it rise. The eggs in our recipe work all of the rising-magic that we need, and not only would adding baking powder make the cake crumb too light (best-case-scenario), you’re also bound to find it’s overflowed all over your oven when the baking time has elapsed.
SAM’S TIP FOR LEMON POUND CAKE: I’ve received lots of requests for how to make a lemon version of this pound cake recipe. While you could just swap out the vanilla extract for lemon, it’s not going to taste as bright and sunny as you’re used to. I have a separate lemon pound cake recipe that packs lots of lemon flavor and is draped in a stunning white glaze. I highly recommend you try it!
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Pound Cake
- Grease and flour your baking pan. Shake out any excess flour and set aside.
- Beat the butter until smooth, then add sugar. Cream until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Slowly drizzle egg mixture into your butter mixture with mixer on low speed. Pause to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then increase speed and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour. Scrape and stir again on medium speed until well-combined, then beat for another minute. You should have a completely smooth, uniform batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake in 350F oven for an hour and ten to an hour and fifteen minutes. Test with a wooden skewer for doneness.
- Cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the sides and center of the pan before carefully inverting onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before serving.
SAM’S TIP: To test if your cake is finished, the best method is to use a long wooden skewer (like the kind used for shish-kebabs) as this batter is so thick that a toothpick just wonโt cut it. Insert the skewer into your cake and check it for moist crumbs. If you have wet batter on your skewer, your cake needs to bake longer, but if there are a few moist crumbs then itโs time to pull that cake out of the oven! The cake is going to continue to bake while it cools, so if you pull out a completely clean skewer from your cake, itโs already at risk of being over-baked and dry, so you want to retrieve your cake from the oven before it hits that point.
Frequently Asked Questions
While this recipe was very deliberately developed to be moist, the most important thing when baking your pound cake is to make sure that you do NOT over-bake it. I recommend making sure your oven is not running hot (I keep two oven thermometers in my oven at all times just to make sure my oven display is telling me the truth) and then checking your cake earlier rather than later. Because of its thick batter and the sheer volume of batter, itโs going to take quite a while in the oven, probably an hour and ten to an hour and fifteen minutes. I check my cake at one hour and then return it to the oven in about 5-minute increments until itโs finished baking.
This cake was originally made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and so the nameย poundย cake was born. Crazy stuff, huh? ๐
This pound cake should not overflow if prepared as written and baked in the proper-sized pan (indicated in the recipe card). I have found that some people have had their cakes overflow, and in each instance this has happened because they had substituted self rising flour, used 12 whole eggs, or added baking powder to the recipe. Please do not make any of these alterations.
Enjoy!
More Classic Cakes to Try:
Letโs bake together! Iโll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
The Perfect Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3 ยฝ cups (700 g) granulated sugar
- 6 large whole eggsยน
- 6 large egg yolksยน (these 6 egg yolks are in addition to the 6 whole eggs listed above)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ยฝ cups (438 g) all-purpose (plain) flourยฒ
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and generously grease (with shortening) and flour a 10 inch tube pan or 12 cup bundt pan. Shake out excess flour and set aside.
- Place your butter in a large bowl (this recipe makes a lot of batter! I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one) and use an electric mixer to beat the butter until it is creamy and smooth.2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the ingredients are well combined and light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).3 ยฝ cups (700 g) granulated sugar
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine your eggs, additional egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt.6 large whole eggsยน, 6 large egg yolksยน, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon salt
- Use a fork to lightly beat the eggs and yolks until all egg yolks are broken up and salt and vanilla are incorporated.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly pour egg mixture into your batter, allowing it to gradually become incorporated (don’t pour all the egg mixture in at once, if you can’t manage a steady stream then add the egg mixture in about 6 parts, allowing each part to become well incorporated before adding more). Once all of the egg mixture is incorporated, pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually, about ยผ cup at a time, add flour to the batter until all has been added.3 ยฝ cups (438 g) all-purpose (plain) flourยฒ
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl and stir again on medium speed until well-combined and beat for another minute.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared tube pan, use a spatula to smooth the surface of the batter.
- Transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake in the center rack of your oven for an hour and ten to an hour and fifteenย minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or ideally with a few moist crumbs (do NOT over-bake this cake or it will be dry)
- Allow cake to cool for at least 20 minutes then run a knife around the sides of the tube pan and the center.
- Carefully invert pound cake onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.
Notes
ยนEggs
A lot of people have had questions about how many eggs to use. You need a total of 12 eggs for this recipe BUT you are only going to be using 6 whole eggs and then another 6 egg yolks. Meaning you will be discarding 6 egg whites (or save them to make meringue cookies or my white cake).ยยฒCake Flour
If you’d like, you can substitute cake flour. If measuring your flour by weight (which you really should be!) you can do a straight 1:1 substitute for cake flour. This cake will turn out just as well; slightly softer, a smidge less dense, but still delicious. Just like with using all-purpose flour, you DO NOT need to add baking powder to this recipe if you use cake flour. Also worth noting: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE SELF-RISING FLOUR.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Lauren Harris
I’m really sad about this. I followed the directions explicitly, but I couldn’t get it baked. I baked it over 2 hours! Still it was not done. I can’t understand why other people had a good result, unless they like raw cake batter. And the little bit that was done was too sweet. Not trying this one again. I would appreciate any questions to double check what I did. I admit that I didn’t check for doneness when the original time was up. I got it out and after 20 minutes, I cut a raw cake. I put it back in the oven for another hour, but when I got it out, it was still raw and the crust was burned.
Sam
Hi Lauren! I’m sad to hear this, too. The cake wasn’t baked enough when you first pulled it out of the oven, you definitely NEED to check if it is done (your oven could be running cooler than it indicates or there could be another problem that made it take longer to bake all the way through). Unfortunately putting it back in the oven once it’s cooled for over 20 minutes is just too late; if you’d put it back in right away it would’ve been fine but it won’t bake properly after sitting for all that time (and as you experienced, the outside will become much overdone). Check your cake after removing it from the oven, everyone’s oven is different which is why I indicate that bake time may vary and how to test if it’s done. I hope that helps!
Mario Fernandez
So,so good! The best pound cake I have ever eaten! I came across your recipe and gave it a try. Now it is my favorite cake.
Thank you for the recipe!
Mario
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed it, Mario! Thanks for trying my recipe. ๐
Anne-Marie
Hi Sam,
I tried the recipe and I liked the way it turned out especially the colour. However, after it cooled down it was not as moist as I would have wanted it. What could I have done wrong? Could I also add milk, buttermilk, sour cream, baking powder etc to this recipe to make it more moist? If yes- then how much?
I also want a cream cheese version of this recipe?
Thanks
Sam
Hi Anne-Marie! I’m sorry it wasn’t as moist as you would like. The most likely culprit of this is over-baking, even just a minute too long could dry out your cake. I wouldn’t add any other ingredients, just try baking it just a few minutes less. To make this a cream cheese version just reduce the butter to 1 & 1/2 cups and add an 8 oz brick of cream cheese in with the butter. ๐
maria_in_nj
Hi Sam did you ever post your mom’s pound cake? I am interested to try it…German Gold Pound Cake Recipe…there is a German bakery in the Port Richmond section in Philly that makes a pound cake that they are famous for! It is beyond delicious and I’m wondering if your mom’s would be like that one!
Would love to try your mom’s recipe and see if it is close to Stock’s!
ps…making the other pound cake recipe today!!
Sam
Hi Maria! Thank you for the reminder. I have totally forgotten to share it, but I will make sure to put it on my list to do. I hope you love the cake! ๐
Tracie M
I’m thinking if adding some chocolate cake to this recipe and cooking in two 8 inch pans…do you think the cake will cook well with this recipe?
Sam
Hi Tracie! I have been working on a chocolate pound cake, but I haven’t quite perfected it yet. I think you may end up having a little too much batter for 2 8 inch pans but you could bake it in them. Just make sure to not overfill the pans. ๐
Kimberly
Best Pound Cake ever! Curious?? Can I add lemon juice to it?
Sam
Hi Kimberly! You’d have to add a good bit to give the cake a good lemon flavor and adding that much will alter the texture. I would recommend adding a few tablespoons of lemon zest with the sugar and butter and a splash of lemon extract as well. ๐
Jen
Can I use my food processor to slowly mix/add egg mixture? I don’t have a stand mixer.
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Jen! Do you have an electric hand mixer? I would use that instead. I think this batter might be a lot for a food processor unless you have a very large one, and it would probably over-mix it.
Jen
Thanks for the tip!
Marianne
Would you be able to flavor this with lemon for another flavor?
Sam
Yes I think you could. I’d probably add some lemon zest, maybe 2-3 Tablespoons, and a splash of lemon extract.
Towanna
I see that you do not put baking soda or flour in this recipe will the cake still rise.
Sam
It is a dense cake, but it will rise a little bit. ๐
Sevgi
I see 3 1/2 cups of flour in the recipeoo
Karen
ABSOLUTELY, the very best pound cake!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Karen! ๐
margaret
I made this cake and it was delicious. I am not a baker but I love desserts. This is a wonderful recipe and thank you
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Margaret! ๐
Kay
Do you think this recipe will work using mini loaf pans. If so, do you have any suggestions for the baking time?
Sam
Hi Kay! It will work in mini loaf pans but unfortunately I do not know how long they would need to bake. ๐
Jane
I tried this recipe and it’s delicious! It’s perfectly moist and makes a ton, I made half the recipe and still got a whole loaf! I would definitely recommend this recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jane! ๐
Virginia Flint
just give me the recipe without all the fan fare. never got the recipe.
Sam
Hi Virginia! I’m so sorry you missed the jump to recipe button at the top of the page! I also am not sure how you don’t have the recipe since you would have had to scroll right by it to get to the comment section. Have a great day!
Jane
Hi! Do you bake the pond cake for 1 hour?
Sam
Hi Jane! You will need to bake it for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, depending on your oven. ๐
Rosie
You obviously saw the recipe if you made it down to the video, I like the โfan fareโ and appreciate she took the time to make a detailed video.
Tiffany
Would cutting 1 cup of the sugar mess up the texture?
Sam
Hi Tiffany! I haven’t tried it so I can’t be sure. You will lose a lot of flavor though.
J
Use Monkfruit Sweetener instead!